A three-game road trip that began on a positive note ended with a dud as the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 114-90. The loss was the Lakers’ second in a row; both of which have come with Lonzo Ball sidelined by a sprained left knee.
Russell Westbrook had an errant rebound go off his left thumb during pregame warmups, sending him to the locker room just before tipoff. He returned with a left wrap and brace on the thumb that eventually was removed during the game.
Westbrook didn’t necessarily show any ill effects of the injury, but he made only one of his first nine attempts and shot just 8-for-22 overall. He finished with 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
The Lakers weren’t quite as fortunate on the injury front, as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope suffered a right Achilles tendon strain just before halftime and did not return. He finished the night with 10 points, one rebound and two assists.
Additionally, Kyle Kuzma suffered a sprained left hand late in the loss.
While Julius Randle helped the Lakers overcome a ragged start to make it a six-point game at intermission, the Thunder extended their lead to as many as 25 points in the second half. Oklahoma City dominated on the glass, holding an 54-30 edge in rebounding, with 21 coming on the offensive end.
Randle scored a team-high 16 points on an efficient 8-for-11 shooting. He took advantage of a mismatch with Carmelo Anthony, but otherwise struggled in other areas of the game. Randle managed just one rebounds and three assists in his 23 minutes.
A potent scorer in his own right, Anthony caught fire in the third quarter en route to pouring in a game-high 27 points. Steven Adams had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Brandon Ingram endured a rough night after missing two games with a sprained ankle, finishing with just eight points, one rebound and three assists. Ingram at the very least made the night difficult for Paul George, who had 13 points on 5-for-14 shooting.
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